Tread lightly
I spend a lot of my computer consulting hours undo-ing what telephone support technicians have done. I can't get too upset with support people, though. I have been on the other end of the telephone and I understand how difficult it is to troubleshoot computer problems via remote control. There is no way that they can possibly know everything that has been installed at the client's site, or how it might be configured.That said, you can go a long way towards assisting support people when you do have to call them.
The first item to remember is this -- if your system was working fine before, and suddenly stopped working, you might just be experiencing a transient failure that could go away on its own. If your DSL or cable modem connection is not working, give it about 30 minutes. More than likely, it will start again. The danger is, if you start altering settings and re-installing software, you could actually do more damage than good. Give it a little time.
If your connection does not come back in 30 minutes or so, call your Internet Service Provider's (ISP) tech support line. Before the technician starts asking you questions, though, you should ask this question -- "Are you having an outage in my area?" If they are, you don't want to change anything on your end. Try to get some estimate of when the service will be restored and test it again at that time. Asking this question can save many headaches and many lost hours down the road. If there is a problem at your ISP, there is nothing you can do on your end -- and nothing the support technician can do -- to resolve it.
The second thing you should tell the support person is whether or not you are using a router to share your connection among 2 or more computers. This will give them a better understanding of y our system and help them to give you the proper instructions.
After all this, you might still have to take more drastic actions, but in 99% of the cases, you will have avoided creating more problems.
Finally, when in doubt, give me a call. I would much rather help you solve a small problem now, then solving a big problem , later.
New books now available!
A great gift idea for all graduates, regardless of their final career choice!
From Rosanne Welch and Dawn Comer Jefferson...
In the news...
Learn what firmware is and how the term is used for various Apple products. [Apple Computer Knowledge Base Changes]
Microsoft readies Mac Office update
The latest Apple-friendly version of Microsoft's productivity suite goes into mass production in a week to hit store shelves by late May. [CNET News.com]
Free Apple iTunes songs for 8 days in a row, then a free song every Tuesday
Apple is marking the first anniversary of its iTunes Music Store by thanking its customers with a free song of the day for the next eight days from artists who have helped make iTunes a runaway success, including Foo Fighters, Avril Lavigne, Courtney Love, Annie Lennox, Jane’s Addiction, Counting Crows, Renee Fleming and Nelly Furtado. Following the anniversary celebration, the iTunes Music Store will continue to offer a “Free Single of the Week” from up-and-coming bands, spotlighting... [MacDailyNews]
FLASH! High-Tech Voting System Is Banned in California
Free registration required to read the story.“California has banned the use of more than 14,000 electronic voting machines made by Diebold Inc. in the November election because of security and reliability concerns, Kevin Shelley, the California secretary of state, announced yesterday. He also declared 28,000 other touch-screen voting machines in the state conditionally ‘decertified’ until steps are taken to upgrade their security. Mr. Shelley said that he was recommending that the state’s attorney general look into possible civil and criminal charges against Diebold because of what he called ‘fraudulent actions by Diebold.’ ” [Lockergnome Tech News Watch]
New worm's got sass, but not much else
The latest worm will likely spread widely, leaving behind an open file server on each victim, but security experts believe the Internet got lucky with the poorly coded program. [CNET News.com]
Computer Discussion Group at the Sherman Oaks Branch of the LA Public Library
If your friends or co-workers would like an example of how I teach and coach computer users through large and small issues, I recommend they stop by some evening. This is probably the best way to get to know me and my methods.
Each class starts with a a short presentation on some interesting technology, web site or software, but then quickly becomes an energetic question and answer session, where I answer the questions that are most pressing in the minds of the attendees.
The next meeting is May 13th at 6:30 pm.
Currently scheduled for 2004:
May 27
The Sherman Oaks Branch of the Los Angeles Public Library is located at 14245 Moorpark Street Sherman Oaks, CA -- Telephone 818-205-9716.
Remember
to update operating systems and anti-virus programs
Anti-Virus
The beginning of each month is the perfect time to ensure that your operating system (Windows/Macintosh OS) and anti-virus software are up-to-date. Your anti-virus software cannot protect your computer from the latest viruses without these updates. Updates are released at least once a month, unless a new virus is dangerous enough to justify an immediate update.
Operating System Updates
For Windows (98, 2000, XP), there should be an icon labeled Windows Update in your Start Menu
For Macintosh OS 9 systems, check Apple Menu, Control Panels, Software Update
For Macintosh OS X systems, check System Preferences, Software Update
Most systems can be set to automatically check for updates directly from the Internet, as well. If you want to learn how to set up automatic updates for these programs, drop me an email or give me a call.
Windows Tips
Extremetech has this great link to a bunch of tips to help you make Windows work as well as possible. These peobably aren't for the beginner Windows user, but those of you who are ready to learn a bit more are sure to benefit.
174 Tips to a Better Windows Experience
Think you know Windows? We've got dozens of tricks, hints, and shortcuts that'll turn the Redmond Giant into a pussycat. [Extremetech]
Book Recommendation
Check
out my comments this fun book, Eats,
Shoots & Leaves: A Zero Tolerance Approach to Punctuation on My
Word with Douglas E. Welch.
Highly Recommended.
Software Updates
Macintosh
iTunes 4.5 released after 1-year of music store
Apple has released iTunes 4.5, exactly 1 year after the company released the iTunes Music Store (See our live coverage of the announcement last year). You can download the software for free starting today. New features of iTunes 4.5 include:
- Free downloads/single of the week
- Playlist publishing
- Music videos page in iTMS
- Radio charts
- CD insert printing
The terms of service for the music store also changed to allow songs to be played on up to 5 computers (originally 3). During the last year, the iTunes Music Store has sold over 70 million songs. [MacMerc]
Palm Desktop updated with Panther fixes
PalmOne has updated the Palm Desktop,which syncs a Palm handheld to your Mac, to version4.2.1, which you can download from the company's Web site. The updateimproves compatibility with Mac OS X v10.3 "Panther" and upgrades the Send toHandheld droplet, which allows you to transfer image and audio files to yourPalm handheld, to version 1.3. [MacCentral]Apple releases May Security Update
Apple released on Monday Security Update 2004-05-03, which delivers a number of security enhancements, according to the notes accompanying the update. Components contained in the update include AFP Server, CoreFoundation and IPSec. Apple also noted that Security Update 2004-04-05 has been incorporated into this security update. The update is available via the Software Update control panel. [MacCentral]Lightning Bugz Screensaver - 1.0
lightning bug screensaver [VersionTracker: Mac OS X]
Palm
Windows
Chank fonts made of twigs, for the taking
Fontmeister and designer Chank took a load of students out into the forest and had them recreate some of his nicer fonts from found objects -- twigs, leaves, and so forth. The results were phtoographed, fonotofied, and released on the net as free TrueType downloads. Link (Thanks, Francis!) [Boing Boing] (Also available for Macintosh)
Software Updates of all sorts
Looking for new anti-virus software, a Palm PDA or books? Check out Douglas Recommends...
It contains direct Amazon links to some of my favorite Books, Hardware and Software. These are the items I find myself constantly recommending and I wanted to share them with you. I will be adding new items regularly, so check back often.
If you are looking for a recommendation on anything particular, let me know and I will add it to this page.
WelchWrite Merchandise
Products available from Cafepress
I have added a new store to my Cafepress collection. It contains products with this picture, from my recent trip to Sicily.
Check out the wide selection at:
http://cafeshops.com/mossyrock/
Additional stores are also open at:
http://cafeshops.com/welchphotohttp://cafeshops.com/welchsun/
If you are shopping for holiday presents through Amazon.com, you can use the WelchWrite Bookstore. Simply click on the link below to start your shopping and WelchWrite receives a small portion (around 5%) of each sale.
Career-Op, now in its 6th year, is my weekly column on high-tech careers. In Career-Op, I address some of the particular issues of working in high-tech and also general issues that we all face in our careers. You can find the latest column, and a complete archive of past columns complete archive of past columns.
Latest ColumnCareer-Op: Working where you live
by Douglas E. Welch, ComputorEdge MagazineWhile it may seem only natural to develop as many clients and as much business as possible, you have to be a bit circumspect when combining your professional life with your personal life. I recently observed a situation at my son?s school that points up the dangers of working where you live. While I wasn?t privy to the exact nature of the dispute, it points up some important guidelines to observe when making clients or your friends and neighbors.
My weblog, My Word with Douglas E. Welch, is a daily gathering spot for all the information I come across in my travels. There I announce new software updates, post photos, highlight interesting news stories, book recommendations and LA Events. You can check it out at: http://www.welchwrite.com /blog/
A Recent Entry:
This story has been going on for a while, but I finally took it to its logical conclusion only today.Lawrence Lessig's latest book is entitled Free Culture: How Big Media Uses Technology and the Law to Lock Down Culture and Control Creativity. This book has been released under a Creative Commons license, which means that derivative works, such as electronic books and audio books can be created by anyone who wishes to do so.
The electronic version of the book, in PDF and other formats, is available from http://www.free-culture.cc/freecontent/. When this electronic version was released, a variety of people on the Internet came up with the idea to create an audiobook by having a different person read and record each chapter of the book. Te project surprised everyone in the swiftness of its completion. With a week, almost the entire book was available for download as MP3 audio files, or as streaming audio direct from the Internet.
I have been spending a lot of time in the car lately, and, on a whim, I decided to take this book along for the ride. After downloading the various chapters, I burned the first 5 to standard audio CDs that would play in my car. These disks worked perfectly and I was able to enjoy Chapter 1 and 2 as I drove through the Santa Monica mountains on my way to a client.
You can just as easily play these MP3 files on your iPod or other MP3 player, or listen to them on your computer.
Project Gutenberg, which collects and makes e-books out of public domain materials is also now creating audiobooks from classic texts. You can browse through their online library to sxee which audiobooks are already available.
A Gardener's
Notebook is a daily
weblog of the trials and tribulations of a part-time gardener. It includes
notes on what is blooming, what I am planting and what is struggling.
It also contains links to new (or newly found) gardening books and more.
Spend some time in my garden! http://welchwrite.com/agn/blog/
A Recent Entry:
Bees, bees, everywhere
What is it about bees and me lately? (See earlier entries1, 2) Not only did I happen upon 2 books about bees, it seems that part of our neighbors small hive "swarmed" and is heading off to find a new home.
My wife found this collection hanging from one of our rose bushes this afternoon. Quite an amazing sight to suddenly appear in your garden. Of course, other people would be more worried about Africanized Honeybees in their garden. These showed no inclination to attack and the size of the swarm made them less of a threat, as well. I figure they will be gone by morning, nicely ensconced in some tree or someone's attic. Hopefully, not mine!
Click for larger imageI let my neighbor know about the swarm in case he wanted to use them to start a new hive. My reading has shown me that you can stage a new hive box near the swarm, bait it with food and the swarm will gather in the new box, giving you a whole new colony.
The nature of Los Angeles (even the urban areas) will never cease to amaze me.
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Contact
Information
I am available for assistance via telephone,
cell phone, e-mail and instant messaging.
The fee for assistance via these methods is my basic hourly rate, pro-rated
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Contact Numbers:
Office 818-781-6955
Cell 818-601-0051
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